As presidential candidates speak more about religious freedom as the Iowa caucuses near, One Iowa, an LGBT rights advocacy group, held a panel Saturday morning to discuss the First Amendment right and how its definition has changed.

"Some people are running for office in an effort to turn the White House into a central headquarters for the deconstruction of religious freedom," said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, the keynote speaker. "We cannot let that happen."

During the One Iowa panel at the Iowa State Historical Museum, Gaddy and other community members shared their thoughts on religious freedom and how its definition has changed to allow discrimination toward the LGBT community and changes to women's reproductive choices, education and immigration. The event coincides with the 2015 National Religious Liberties Conference, which U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Gov. Mike Huckabee spoke at.

Gaddy said religious freedom has historically focused on the separation of church and state and the ability of any denomination to practice their beliefs as long as it doesn't impede on another person's rights. He criticized rhetoric that was used during the Freedom Conference, including Cruz's comments about how presidents should pray and Jindal's comments regarding assaults on Christianity, saying it impedes religious freedom.

"What is being called persecution in the United States is nothing more than courts finally applying the Constitution to religion in this land like it should have been doing a long time ago," Gaddy said. "What the religious right is calling religious freedom would have us measure the competency of candidates for the presidency by how they begin their morning and whether or not they begin their morning kneeling, praying."

The panelists, which included Democratic state Sen. Matt McCoy, Donna Red Wing of One Iowa, Connie Ryan Terrell of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, and Jeremy Rosen of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, emphasized the importance of not only voting, but personally reaching out. They pointed to the ousting of three Iowa Supreme Court justices in 2010 following a same-sex marriage ruling and then the retention of Justice David Wiggins in 2012. In 2016, three more justices involved in the ruling will be up for retention.

"We know they're going to attack the justices not only on Varnum and marriage equality, but we also have the Planned Parenthood telemedicine case," Terrell said. "We need to make sure we are shifting that conversation so they're not misusing religion and religious freedom."

Rosen said fear is a tactic often used when discussing religious freedom, such as the recent failed equal rights ordinance in Houston, Texas. He said it's important to have conversations with others so they are educated and informed.

"It's always going to be important to educate people and have a fact-based conversation and continue to have conversations in our communities," Rosen said.